From Jane Suiter A group of us including Professor Michael Marsh, Dr Theresa Reidy and I along with Red C were commissioned to undertake research following the referendums in November with a view to learning lessons for future referendum campaigns. The report is here and the presentation given to the Oireachtas Committee on Investigations, Oversight…
The civic group, Second Republic, who have been involved in campaigning for a Citizens’ Assembly for Political Reform, will hold their second AGM in Dublin on Saturday week.Time: 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-16:30 Date: Saturday, 3 March Venue: Odessa Club, 14 Dame Court, Dublin 2. The AGM will happen very shortly after the Government will have announced…
By Michael Gallagher ‘Independent TDs devise plan to force referendum’ reads the headline on the Irish Times site on 1 February. The cunning plan, it turns out, is that they would aim to use the provisions of Article 27 of the constitution to bring about a referendum on the recently-agreed EU treaty (or quasi-EU treaty)…
As stated by the fictional character of Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes Minister ‘Open Government is a contradiction in terms. You can be open, or you can have government. The Thirty Year rule is a good example of this situation. The thirty year rule allows for the release of Cabinet Documents after the efflux of…
By Eoin Daly, School of Law and Government, DCU Will Ireland need to hold a referendum to ratify the fiscal ‘compact’ recently agreed by 26 EU member states? To answer this, I will explain the concept and status of sovereignty in the Constitution. This, in turn, dictates whether, and under what circumstances, Ireland’s participation in…
Eoin O’Malley 24 October The referendum on the 30th amendment – the inquiries referendum – is on the face of it something most people would want to support. It seeks to empower the Oireachtas to hold inquiries which should strengthen the government oversight function. Specifically it seeks to overturn (or render void) the decision in Maguire v.…
After the Nice Treaty referendum it was decided to change the terms of reference of the Referendum Commission so that it no longer gives arguments for or against the proposed amendment. Instead it sets out the rationale for the amendment and what it sets out to do. It does not engage in whether the proposal is…
Post by David Farrell (October 17, 2011) Due to great interest from various organisations and individuals abroad, The Constitutional Society in Iceland has obtained and published an independent English translation of The Constitutional Bill delivered by The Constitutional Council 29 July 2011. This can be found here.
The left wing think tank Tasc yesterday released a series of essays. One was written anonymously allegedly by a senior civil servant. The Irish Times reported on it here. Much of the language is similar to posters on here. It derides a culture of secrecy, and argues that our inherited political, institutional and legal framework…
By Michael Gallagher The question of a presidential attempt to refer, delay, or even veto bills that he or she does not like has surfaced a couple of times during the campaign so far. First, Mary Davis seemed to suggest that she would not rule out referring a budget to the Supreme Court for a…
Irish Politics Forum 